Cold of mother
by Cybertronprincess
Summary: Checkered board AU. Cyclonus did not know love, he never had, and never would. Not from his bond mate, not from his son, and not from his brother. But he knew obedience, loyalty, honour.


**Checkered Board AU.**

Megatronus hadn't been a particularly _bright_ Sparkling. He meant well, was generally good natured and played well with others. He had a temper, but he wasn't a bully. In fact, he went out of his way to lose his temper _with_ bullies. School yard fights were what started it really, Cyclonus recalled, when Galvatron was finally done smacking their child around, he roughly sat the screaming Sparkling on the side counter and bellowed for him to be silent.

"You're a strong spark, boy," Galvatron stated firmly, once Megatronus had calmed down. "It shows, and it is not to be wasted," Perhaps it was the fact that his coder had never passed a kind word to their child, but Cyclonus noticed how Megatronus' optics grew wide and attentive. "Tomorrow, we begin your gladiatorial training."

It was made really; a Sparkling, only of seven vorns, starting as a gladiator. Cyclonus would watch from the sidelines, cold, unfeeling optics glued to his bonded and their son fighting. Nothing was held back, and Megatronus was left bleeding and torn after every training session. Upon his seventeenth vorn, Megatronus was renowned and famous for his flawless victory streak in the ring, but the fact remained that he couldn't defeat his abusive father. Galvatron still saw potentially, and his greedy nature grasped onto it; their son was his pawn, masked as a knight.

Cyclonus watched as Megatronus' humanity and sanity slipped away. He had a feeling it would; even when he was small, the warrior would find his child simply standing in the middle of a room, staring into space like a mindless drone.

An insanely violent coder and an antisocial Sociopath for a carrier. Megatronus hadn't a chance; perhaps if his parents had been kinder, more loving, he'd have had some for of independence. But that wasn't the case; Megatronus _needed_ to be controlled, else he'd simply go blank.

When he met Orion Pax, Cyclonus felt a kind of... _relief. _His son showed hope, freedom! He spoke and interacted with the clerk with great ease, as if... as if Orion was the only one in the universe who could coax him to speak out on his own.

But Galvatron didn't like it.

The arranged bonding with the Sound lord's son came as a surprise to both of them, and Megatronus had even been mournful.

"I don't want to!" He exclaimed in the secluded confines of his dorm, Cyclonus the only one who ever visited. His carrier sat on his berth as the young gladiator paced back and forth like an enraged jungle cat, twitching every so often. "I don't want to bond with who ever this mech is, I want Orion!"

"Soundwave is known very much for his beauty; you should be _thankful_ you are getting him. Thousands of bots will seethe with jealousy at you-!"

"I don't care! I don't love this 'Soundwave', I love Orion!" Megatronus threw himself face first on the berth, laying there limply like a chrome log. Cyclonus stared at him, watching his child sulk.

"My dear, little turbo fox," Cyclonus finally said, placing his servo firmly on the child's lower back. "You and I both know nothing of love."

As his bond to Galvatron had, Megatronus' arranged bond went ahead. However, it startled and amused Cyclonus how quick Megatronus was to change his attitude.

"I know I said I didn't want it, but now I can't think about anything other than Soundwave!" He explained, optics glowing brightly. "He understands me, he helps me! I can't believe it took me this long to find him!"

A chilling laugh escaped his carrier that made him freeze. Cyclonus _never_ laughed.

"You are still young," He said. "And even if you were as elderly as you coder, you _still_ wouldn't understand what love is."

"I know," Megatronus admitted, clenching his fists. "But Soundwave is the closest I've gotten to 'being in love'."

"What about Orion?"

"... I don't know..." With a smirk, Cyclonus got up to leave. "But it wasn't the same!" He insisted, making his carrier glance at him again.

"Oh?"

"I'd do anything for Soundwave, without question." His son proclaimed. "_Anything._"

Anything. That word rang in Cyclonus' CPU when he faced his son the next time. Behind him, mounted on the wall of their chamber, Galvatron and Blaster's heads sat like trophies, staring out at the room. Cyclonus imagined his bonded's optics glaring into his.

Galvatron looked... almost understanding.

"Anything... I see now," He nodded as his child walked towards him. Soundwave lay on the berth, elegantly spread over the mauve sheets in sultry glory. They made brief optic contact, red against green, then Cyclonus gracefully descended to his knees. "Tell him then," he said. "Have my child kill me."

Soundwave sat up. "Leave," The word floated in verbal velvet, so smooth and soft. "And do _not_ come back."

Cyclonus did not know love, he never had, and never would. Not from his bond mate, not from his son, and not from his brother. But he knew obedience, loyalty, honour.

Those things Soundwave brought to his son.


End file.
